The house stands as a monolithic green building, quietly complementing its context – a lush park opposite the plot. From the outside, the house is a patina-aged copper clad cube with window openings and timber infill carved into the façade. Inside, the spaces are varied with the interplay of double volumes, curved ceiling and sculptured gardens.
The project was influenced by the client’s expressed desire for a house to have a copper roof for their house. Rather than putting the copper on the roof, we applied it on the external building façade as copper is a durable product and a very low maintenance material – requiring little replacement or repair. Hence the Green House.
The concept was based on an abstract design through the process of volumetric reduction of a nine-by-nine cube. The volumes in-between the north and south wings of the house were reduced to allow the passageway to be kept to optimum dimensions, allowing effective cross ventilation. Taking into consideration the neighboring dwelling units of the adjacent plots, the volume on the third storey is further reduced to minimize the impact of the massing of the building in its context.
The patina-aged copper cladding on the external façade not only reflects the luscious greenery of the neighborhood, but also allows the ‘Green Home’ to reduce energy consumption through passive design strategy. The Copper cladding acts as a heat barrier wall to the internal spaces. The amount of heat entering into the internal space is further reduced as it is insulated by a 300 mm air gap in between the copper cladding and internal brick wall. Cross Ventilation is provided for all rooms to allow both horizontally and vertically, thereby making air-conditioning an option during the monsoon months.
Given that the site was north –south facing, the living areas and bedrooms were designed towards the front and rear of the house, while the bathrooms and service zones located on the east-west facing act as an additional heat buffer zone to the living areas. Both the living spaces and bedrooms were given the lush view of the park, bringing the home closer to the nature.